March 6, 2009
Alicia Keys Songs in a Minor Pop Music CD Review
Author: Clyde Lee Dennis
Songs In A Minor is the latest Pop CD put out by the extremely talented Alicia Keys who once again has delivered a brilliant collection of tracks. I’m confident Alicia Keys fans, and Pop fans alike will be pleased with this one.
Refreshingly, this was one of those CDs I was able to just pop in and comfortably listen to from beginning to end. Every track is enjoyable and was pretty easy for me to listen to from start to finish.
Pop music fans will recognize some of the well known contributors on the project including Kerry Brothers and Cindy Mizelle plus a few other notables as well.
I’m of the opinion that Songs In A Minor is certainly Alicia Keys’s best work in a few years. A totally enjoyable CD and an outstanding release. What I call must have music. I give it two thumbs up because it's a collection that even the casual Pop fan can appreciate and enjoy.
While this entire CD is really very good some of my favorites are track 3 - How Come You Don’t Call Me, track 14 - Why Do I Feel So Sad, and track 16 - Loving U
My Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 1 - Piano & I. Good stuff!
Songs In A Minor Release Notes:
Alicia Keys originally released Songs In A Minor on June 26, 2001 on the J-Records label.
CD Track List Follows:
1. Piano & I 2. Girlfriend 3. How Come You Don’t Call Me 4. Fallin’ 5. Troubles 6. Rock Wit U - (with Isaac Hayes) 7. Woman’s Worth, A 8. Jane Doe 9. Goodbye 10. Life, The 11. Mr. Man - (with Jimmy Cozier) 12. Never Felt This Way 13. Butterflyz 14. Why Do I Feel So Sad 15. Caged Bird 16. Loving U
Songs In A Minor Album Notes Personnel: Alicia Keys (vocals, various instruments, piano, keyboards); Jimmy Cozier (vocals): Gerald “G” Flowers, Arty White (guitar); Miri (violin); Isaac Hayes (Fender Rhodes piano); Brian Cox (keyboards); Richie Good (upright bass); Tim Shider, Vic Flowers, Rufus Jackson (electric bass); Norman Hedman (percussion); Kerry “Krucial” Brothers, Anthony Nance (programming); Cindy Mizelle, Tammy Saunders, Andricka Hall, Paul L. Green, Kandi B (background vocals).
Producers: Jermaine Dupri, Brian McKnight, Alicia Keys, Kerry “Krucial” Brothers.
About the Author:
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/alicia-keys-songs-in-a-minor-pop-music-cd-review-344299.html
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alt="Christmas Music Boxes" class="ImgBorder">What better gift for a child or adult than a Christmas music box. Christmas music boxes are always popular and make great gifts, and there are so many to styles to choose from. They play the old time favorite holiday melodies cherished by all for all time.
Holiday music boxes, such as Christmas music boxes come in many sizes, styles, melodies, and, price. Such selections as:
Mr. Christmas series wooden music boxes
Hand-Painted Christmas music boxes
Thomas Kinkade Victorian Christmas Music Box
O Holy Night Christmas music boxes
Thomas Kinkade Christmas Music Boxes
There is no better painter of light that I have ever seen than Thomas Kinkade. His work is adored by millions around the world, including this young artist. Having his signature on items like the Holiday Merriment music box, $130.00, or Memory Lane music box, just $40.00, is incredible and worth the price.
This is what makes music boxes that much more collectible, antique, and incredible, is marrying the craftsmanship of someone like Thomas Kinkade with the makers of these endearing players of sweet music.
Mr. Christmas Music Boxes
The next holiday music box to talk about is the Mr. Christmas music box collection. Ranging in price from around $26.00 to $500.00, they are some of the most detailed, highly collectible and just plain beautiful holiday music boxes you ever laid eye on.
Like we said, there are many types of Christmas music boxes available. You have the carousel series, the snowman, the Nativity, Christmas Town, and more to choose from. Each of you have in mind, either a person or place in a home where these will ornament. Be sure to review the melody of the music box you choose. Online manufacturers have audio files to listen to.
We can go on and on, but feel free to visit us at http://www.musicboxes-r-us.com/ for more.
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March 5, 2009
Country Music: the Choice of Trailer Trash?
Author: Paul McIndoe
Ask someone what kind of music they’re into and nine times out of ten, the response will be: “I like all kinds... except country…”. Most people think country means songs in which women moan about their husbands walking out on them and their forty children, or songs in which fully grown men cry about having their horse stolen.
To the younger generations, country means that weird old music that only parents (or grandparents) listen to, and it’s not hard to see where they’re coming from; as children, we rummage through our parent’s album collections only to discover bizarre record covers with cheesy, old fashioned pictures of men dressed in rhinestone suits with leather cowboy boots; country music was lurking.
The country genre became associated with Billy Ray Cyrus’ awful novelty record “Achy Breaky Heart" and the resultant line-dancing craze, and it also spawned the over-played radio-friendly MOR of Shania Twain and Sheryl Crow. All are great reasons to be put off country music for life.
But in this sea of country music crass, a king was born; Johnny Cash, a man with a deep, disturbing voice, who dresses all in black like a real rock star and tells the most wonderful stories through his songs.
Take a listen to songs like “A Boy Named Sue” and “One Piece At A Time” and you’ll realise that the ridiculous tales country artists come up with are more often than not told with tongue very firmly in cheek. He did serious stuff too, of course. “Ring Of Fire” is one of the greatest love songs ever written, “Folsom Prison Blues” tackles the themes of redemption and regret perfectly and signature tune “The Man In Black” is an inspiring manifesto, pleading for an end to social injustice.
A little bit of research into Cash’s contemporaries leads to such names as Wilson Nelson, Merle Haggard and Hank Williams. Nelson, who it seems hasn’t aged in around thirty years, and Haggard came to prominence during the rise in popularity of outlaw country in the 1970s, a movement that saw a trend towards songs about jail, drinking, drugs and hard working men. Williams meanwhile left a legacy in country music when he died aged 29 after overdosing on Morphine. During the 1950s, Williams was a pioneer of the honky-tonk style, which Elvis Presley later adopted and became a global superstar in the process.
All of the above, including Elvis, are inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame, which was founded in 1962. Located in Nashville - 'music city USA’, the Country Music Hall of Fame doubles as a museum of all things country, including hand-written lyrics sheets and instruments used by legendary artists including Cash; and there’s plenty of rustic country hotels in Nashville available for anyone wishing to pay the Hall of Fame and its many inductees a visit.
About the Author:
Paul McIndoe is an online, freelance journalist and keen hillwalker. He lives in Edinburgh with his two dogs.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/country-music-the-choice-of-trailer-trash-226397.html
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Author: Muna wa Wanjiru
In just about every type of activity you will find that technology has the ability to help you. This same type of technological advances has been created with music like guitars in mind. As a result of this technology you will find various types of guitar software that you can use.
Besides learning to play the guitar from things like DVD’s, audio tapes or CD’s you now have the ability to buy guitar software that will be able to teach you how to play the guitar.
This means that you will receive instructions about playing your guitar from the computer. While this may seem hard to believe you do have the choice of choosing these software types and learning how to play your guitar at a pace that is suited for you.
Guitar software can be purchased from many different places, and one such place that you will be able to find your guitar software from is that of the internet.
You can also buy your guitar software from various musical instrument stores and sometimes in electronic audio and visual stores. From these places the different guitar software can be chosen to help you play at your level of skill.
When you are looking at these different types of guitar software you will notice that these can be found in the ranges of beginner to advanced players. There is also software that can be found for the different styles of music that is played by both professionals and amateurs alike.
These amateurs are of course the ordinary person who has become interested in learning to play the guitar. The many different styles that guitar software can be found in, will include the various classical songs by the masters, Latin music, blues, rock’n'roll, and even jazz.
While having these types of guitar software can help the average guitarist to learn to play their guitar there are many other guitar software types which can help you in other areas of guitar playing as well.
This type of guitar software can be of help when you are learning about chords. With this software you will be able to look for the different scales and chords that are used in guitar music and see how they are used to provide the best effects for the music.
The many different forms of guitar software that is now available can help you out in every aspect of guitar playing. For this reason you should take the time to choose the software that you will be bale to use and gain the best type of help.
About the Author:
Muna wa Wanjiru is a web administrator and has been researching and reporting on internet marketing for years. For more information on guitar software, visit his site at GUITAR SOFTWARE
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/buying-guitar-software-that-will-be-able-to-teach-you-how-to-play-the-guitar-301886.html
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Author: Clyde Lee Dennis
I can describe the latest release from Rock sensation Donell Jones for you with just one word… Outstanding!
It’s a rare day indeed that I get a CD from an artist that I can truthfully say does not have a bad track in the bunch. I’m more than happy to announce that’s exactly what I must say about this one. There simply isn’t a bad one in the bunch. No fillers here at all.
Rock music fans will recognize some of the well known guests that have been assembled to play along with Jones on several of the tracks. Artists like Shelene Thomas and Darin Whittington just to name a couple.
Listen to this CD and I believe you’ll find there’s not much to dis-like about it. The songs are inspired, the production is simply outstanding, and Donell Jones is clearly in top form. So much so that if you're even mildly into Rock music you’ll enjoy this CD.
While this entire CD is really very good some of my favorites are track 2 - Knocks Me Off My Feet, track 8 - Wish You Were Here, and track 15 - The Only One You Need
My Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 1 - In The Hood - (Playas Version). Great track!
My Heart Release Notes:
Donell Jones originally released My Heart on June 4, 1996 on the LaFace label.
CD Track List Follows:
1. In The Hood - (Playas Version) 2. Knocks Me Off My Feet 3. No Interruptions 4. Waiting On You 5. I Want You To Know 6. My Heart 7. Yearnin’ 8. Wish You Were Here 9. All About You 10. You Should Know 11. Natural Thang 12. Believe In Me 13. In The Hood - (remix) 14. Don't Cry 15. Only One You Need, The
Personnel: Donell Jones (vocals, keyboard & drum programming); Joseph Morant (trumpet); Darin Whittington, Mookie, Edward “Eddie F.” Ferrell, Mark Sparks, Kenny Tonge (keyboard & drum programming); Tia Whittington, Shelene Thomas, Chico DeBarge, Patria, Erik Milteer (background vocals).
Producers: Donell Jones, Darin Whittington, Mookie, Edward Ferrell, Kenny Tonge.
About the Author:
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/donell-jones-my-heart-rock-music-cd-review-317805.html
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Easy piano lessons to get you started on the piano! If you have just started learning the piano and that too on your own, you need to plan your lessons so that you keep on progressing at a steady pace. It is always better to keep practicing regularly and choose your beginner piano lessons in such a way so that the complexity of the lessons increases gradually.
Doing a full bang approach where in you try to learn all the aspects at one go is not a great idea just because it does not work. Though you will be tempted to do so occasionally, you should try to resist doing it else you may get frustrated with yourself and you will start doubting your capability to learn the piano.
It is always better to plan your practice sessions else you will be tempted to play songs each time you sit to practice. You should ideally be starting with some finger exercises for a few minutes, then revise the lessons which you recently learnt and then move on to learn new lessons / songs. You should be able to manage all these in a 30 min slot, which is something you should be able to devote for a practice session.
When you start out, you will need to plan your easy piano lessons so that you can grasp the important topics, some of which are listed below. Each of these lessons builds up on the earlier lessons and is very important for you to grasp since they form the foundation on which your advanced learning would be based.
Notes on piano - Getting started with the Basics! Learn to recognize the white and the black keys. See the pattern of keys that gets repeated throughout the keyboard.
Staff, Clef, and Ledger lines – Learn how the notes are written on sheet!
Treble Clef Notes – Learn to recognize the notes on the lines and spaces of the Treble clef. You will find the melody notes written on this clef so learning to recognize the notes will help you to know the tune of the song.
Bass Clef Notes - Learn to recognize the notes on the lines and spaces of the Bass clef. The accompaniment and harmonizing notes are written on this clef.
Accidentals - Learn the accidentals. Know how the Sharps and Flats alter the white notes; you cannot always play songs based on the white notes!
Learn about Arpeggios - Learning the arpeggios will give you lot of confidence on how to use your left hand as you start learning the piano
Note Types / Rests – Here you will need to recognize the different types of notes and even rests, since music is not just about sound; you also have a lot of spaces in between which is taken care of through Rests. You will also need to learn the duration of the various types. You will need to get acquainted with Whole Notes, Half Notes, Crotchet, Quaver, and Semi-Quavers.
Knowing the above topics and to be able to use them in your playing should be on your agenda for the first few months. These are the easy piano lessons which you should plan to learn at the earliest.
Suresh
www.know-your-keyboard-piano.com
This article is copyright
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_593766_48.html
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alt="Country Singer/Songwriter Kellie Coffey Releases Much Anticipated New Album Walk On" class="ImgBorder">The Academy of Country Music�s Top New Female of 2003, Kellie Coffey, is back with a new independent album entitled Walk On. The follow-up release to her debut album, “When You Lie Next to Me,” was produced by Wayne Kirkpatrick (Little Big Town) and features 12 tracks, 11 co-written by Coffey. The video for the first single, “I Would Die For That,” is exploding on YouTube with over 70,000 hits in only four weeks.
Walk On,is the kind of deep introspective album that most artists aspire to make. “We wrote songs about our life experience and what moved us,” Coffey said of her co-writers. “It was probably the purest creative experience of my life.” The new album represents more than one dream come true; Coffey became pregnant and gave birth to her baby boy during the writing and recording of the album.
Coffey was inspired to write the powerful ballad “I Would Die For That,” because of her own struggles with infertility. The video is garnering attention from around the globe as couples relate to her heartfelt, thought provoking lyrics and soaring vocals. “I�ve been humbled by the response and stories I�ve been told. This song is giving a voice to women and couples who are struggling to have a baby,” said Coffey.
From the gospel tinged “Walk On,” to the playful and humorous "Everything She Never Wanted,” and “Bandwagon,” the album mirrors Kellie�s life. “Walk On” is a soulful anthem for overcoming adversity. “Everything She Never Wanted” is a funny take on a driven career woman who finds that being a wife and mom, the things she never wanted to be, are what she really wanted to be all along. “Bandwagon” takes a lighthearted look at the modern obsession of needing to be a part of the latest craze. From cellphones, to handbags, to designer coffees, to the latest diet, the lyrics make you laugh and think at the same time. With backing vocals by Dan Tyminski (Union Station, O Brother Where Art Thou) and a band made up of some of the best pickers in Nashville, this has the makings of an instant country classic.
The final cut on the album, “There You Go Again”, was recorded in one take. Almost unheard of in an age of computer assisted recording. Right after Kellie and co-writer/producer Wayne Kirkpatrick finished writing the song, they decided to cut a quick piano vocal demo. Months later when they were preparing to cut the master track, they listened down to the “demo” and decided not to touch the vocal or piano track they recorded in the inspired moments after writing the song. They simply called Jonathan Yudkin, Nashville�s premier fiddle player and violinist, to lay down a string quartet. The results are stunning.
Oklahoma native Coffey entered the country music scene in 2001 with her top 10 single, "When You Lie Next To Me," which remained on the chart for over a year. Her album of the same name entered the country sales chart at #5. She followed that with the top 15 single, “At the End Of The Day.” Coffey toured with Kenny Chesney for over a year on his “Senoritas and Margaritas” tour and opened for Geroge Strait on his 2004 tour. She received a Top New Country Female American Music Award nomination, and the ACM win in the same category. She has appeared on multiple ACM, CMA and CMT Shows.
Walk On is available online at www.kelliecoffey.com, CDBaby.com, Amazon.com, the iTunes Music Store and other download stores on the web.
Contact: Chip Schutzman
Company: Miles High Productions
Address: 6622 Delongpre Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90028
Tel: 323-806-0400
Fax: 323-462-0829
Email
“I Would Die For That” Video
CD Baby Link
Website
PR Distributed By MuzikReviews.com for Miles High Productions
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